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Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Goose Island's Matilda (a review)

Most of the time, I don't need to be persuaded to have a drink. My inner hedonist usually does the work for me. And my two year old. But some beers I will gladly never have again.

Goose Island's Matilda is one of those beers. I know some people who like it just fine, but personally, my palate sent out a resounding "no thanks" from beginning to end. For those of you who stay awake at night concerned about the world's wasted beer, you can go to bed with a clear conscience. I found some thirsty chums to finish it off for me. There's no shortage of those round these parts, it seems. Especially on Fridays.

What a funky, fetid beer. Like moldy lemon peel, pine trees, and wet cork. Reminded me of an awful coriandor flavored beer I had once and then promptly blocked out (fortunately for you all my husband has the memory of a trivia champion). The smell of wet socks roasting in the mid-august heat of suburban metro atlanta asserted itself at the get go and held on tight.

The foamy head was generous, but dissipated quickly. A orangey golden color, and mild malty aftertaste. Beneath the aforementioned funk, a combo of fruity, floral notes (which appealed to my husband, although he admitted he might only want one glass of it before moving on to something else) rose through the fog, making it tolerable at least until the bottom of the glass. As a card carrying member of the Clean Plate Club, I find it somewhat morally compromising to leave my glass half empty. I'm an ace. I know.

I picked up this little gem sight unseen from The Stout Brothers who described it thusly via their online menu:

If "intriguing" is the nom de guerre for any future beers on their menu, my plan of action is avoidance at all costs. I'll take the dinner (Did you say goat cheese and roast chicken? Um, yum.) and skip the "real nice" beer, thanks.

Have you had Matilda? Did you take her home? Did she treat you real nice? Tell me, oh people with taste buds and access to the internets. Would you introduce her to your parents?

Thanks for joining me for my second ever HB beer review. For a beer blog, reviews have been notably absent for reasons I will divulge in more detail as we move along, but for now let it suffice to say that I am usually too enthralled with the brief intermissions from my responsible life to wax poetic about my recreational drinking.

Want to know what I'm up to in the imbibing department, follow me on untappd. Or at least keep your panties on. More reviews are in the works. As for me, it's getting cold outside so I'm off to finish my whiskey.

Cheers,
hb

Caveat 'A': The fragile boys down at SB are not responsible for my poor beer selection and would like you to know that they'll be glad to choose a beer for you if you're into that sort of thing.